Haiti's embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to step down after a transitional presidential council and an interim prime minister were appointed to prepare for the quickest possible elections in Haiti, Caribbean leaders said.
Guyana President Irfaan Ali, chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) regional bloc, made the announcement after a day of meetings in Jamaica between heads of state as well as Haitian civil and political leaders.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry will resign to pave the way for the establishment of a transitional presidential council and elections in Haiti - Photo: CNN
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has flown from Washington to attend meetings aimed at reaching a solution to Haiti's deepening security and political crisis.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been holed up in Puerto Rico for a week, unable to return to Haiti, which is reeling from gang violence. Henry had been in Kenya seeking an agreement to deploy a multinational security force of at least 1,000 police officers to Haiti to fight gangs that have seized more than 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
In Mr Henry's absence, the country's heavily armed gangs burned down police stations, freed nearly 5,000 inmates from two prisons and attacked the capital's international airport, disrupting flights.
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has suffered an epidemic of kidnappings and indiscriminate killings by gangs.
“We have seen assassinations, attacks against law enforcement, systematic looting, destruction of public and private buildings,” Prime Minister Henry said in a brief Creole video address to the nation on Facebook, confirming the transition plan. “That hurts us.”
“Haiti needs peace, Haiti needs sustainable institutions,” Mr. Henry added.
Guyana President Irfaan Ali said Mr Henry's resignation and the formation of a presidential council were the first steps in a difficult process and called on Haitians to be patient.
Guyana President Irfaan Ali (center) was the one who informed the media about President Ariel Henry's decision to resign - Photo: Aran News
“This is a work in progress,” Mr. Ali said, adding that a proposed presidential council, which would have seven voting members, would exercise the president's powers, making decisions by majority vote.
President Ali said that among the council's duties would be to appoint a transitional prime minister as well as an electoral council. The council would be responsible for organizing the elections and would also coordinate with international organizations supporting Haiti to expedite the deployment of a Kenyan-led police force.
The deal is likely to anger Haitian gang leaders, who are barred from serving on the presidential council. Anyone who has been convicted of a crime, or has been charged or prosecuted in any jurisdiction, cannot serve on the Haitian presidential council.
Guyana President Irfaan Ali added that those sanctioned by the United Nations or those who oppose the Kenya-led multinational force would also be barred from the council.
This means that Haiti's most powerful gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, who has been sanctioned by the United Nations, is also off the list. Cherizier has reportedly vowed to fight any foreign power that comes to Haiti.
Another ambitious Haitian leader, Guy Philippe, recently returned home after serving six years in an Atlanta, US, prison for drug money laundering. Philippe, who led the 2004 coup that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, also opposed the multinational force and the presidential council proposed by CARICOM.
Quang Anh (according to Reuters, Wall Street Journal)
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